The Hubble telescope normally needs three gyroscopes to function properly. Due to budgetary/safety concerns, NASA has decided to bring Hubble down. Gyroscopes are used to prevent the telescope from tossing and tumbling in space. Currently, Hubble has four (functioning) gyros, and the fear was that if two were incapacitated (The gyros regularly break down, and astronauts have already replaced them twice), Hubble would not work any more, and efforts will not be made to fix it. Now it looks like Hubble can perhaps work even on two gyroscopes.

Hubble Space Telescope (Courtesy: Space Telescope Science Institute)Engineers at NASA have now developed software that would allow the telescope to run on only two gyros, leaving two on standby. The first full-scale test was conducted from 20 to 23 February. The fear was that with two gyros, the pictures will be blurred. But the tests found that the results are almost indistinguishable. This new setup will allow Hubble to stay up in orbit, possible till 2008! And we will keep getting the amazing pictures we all love so much :-):-).